Bitcoin Price Rallies To $81K On Biggest ETF Inflows Since January, Waller Rate Signal Ahead Of August Jobs Report

Bitcoin (BTC) rallied to over $81,000 on Friday morning, and BTC spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows hit a nine-month high after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he would support holding rates steady if price pressures kept easing. rose over 4.3% in the last 24 hours, trading at around $81,100 after hitting an intra-day high of over $82,000. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the apex cryptocurrency improved to ‘neutral’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day.The rally coincided with more than $730 million flowing into spot Bitcoin ETFs, marking their biggest single-day inflow since January 14, when inflows reached $843 million.The market is now watching for August’s jobs report, with the market expecting the unemployment rate to be around 4.1% and hiring of 53,000 jobs.Ethereum, XRP, ZEC And DASH Outpace BitcoinEthereum (ETH) and Ripple’s XRP (XRP) gained more than Bitcoin among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.  jumped over 6% in the last 24 hours to around $1.46, while  rallied more than 5% to cross $2,500.On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around XRPand Ethereum remained in the ‘bearish’ zone over the past day.Meanwhile, privacy-focused tokens Zcash (ZEC) and Dash (DASH) led gains among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. DASH’s price gained over 25% in the last 24 hours, while ZEC’s price jumped over 21% and was among the top trending crypto tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing. ZEC was trading at around $1,007 at the time of writing after clocking a record high of $1,027 in intra-day trade.Retail sentiment on the platform around DASH improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from ‘bullish’ territory over the past day, while sentiment around ZEC remained in ‘bullish’ territory. The privacy tokens’ gains follow a Grayscale research note that reframed ZEC as a key AI‑era privacy play, sparking a sector‑wide rally.Lighter (LIT) underperformed Bitcoin but also hit a record high amid the crypto rally. LIT’s price rose around 17% in the last 24 hours to clock $4.58. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around the token trended in ‘bullish’ territory over the past day.The jump follows the altcoin’s August data summary, which showed open interest over $1 billion and $3.95 billion in trading volume.Jobs Report Next Test For Crypto RallyThe broader market backdrop has also turned more supportive for risk assets, with the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) at around 14 and near its lowest levels since January. A lower VIX points to subdued expectations for near-term equity-market volatility.However, large-cap crypto-linked equities were relatively muted in premarket trading despite the move in digital assets. Robinhood Markets (HOOD) fell about 1.1%, Strategy (MSTR) declined more than 2%, and Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) was also down more than 1%.Coinbase Global (COIN) and Circle Internet Group (CRCL) were also up over 1% in pre-market trade.